HOUSTON — South Florida took advantage of a season-high 23 Rice turnovers, turning them into 27 points, as the Owls fell to the American Conference leaders, 75-56, Wednesday night from Tudor Fieldhouse.
 
The Story
South Florida got off to a hot start, scoring the first eight points of the game. Trae Broadnax got the Owls on the board with a jumper, but Joseph Pinion answered with a three-pointer. Nick Anderson scored five straight points to pull Rice within four, but the Bulls took advantage of seven Rice turnovers over the next five minutes, going on an 18-3 run to take their largest lead of the half, 29-10, with 9:18 to play. The Owls, though, started to claw back. Anderson and Broadnax hit back-to-back threes to send them on an 11-0 run. The teams then went back and forth over the next 1:22. A Broadnax three cut the deficit to 35-29. After the teams exchanged free throws, Izaiyah Nelson’s jumper sent Rice into halftime trailing, 39-31.
 
The teams began the second half trading baskets, as Cam Carroll and Jalen Smith hit threes. But a 9-0 South Florida run pushed the lead back to 16. The Owls scored six straight, including Carroll’s second three to bring it within 10. But a 13-2 run extended USF’s lead to 66-45 with 7:46 remaining. A 7-0 brought the Owls within 14. But that’s as close as Rice would get.
 
What Head Coach Rob Lanier Had to Say
“There’s no other way to say it. As a coach, you’re really disappointed when your team doesn’t show up and fight. That is really disappointing. A lot of credit goes to South Florida. They’re a good team who is playing well. I thought when the game was in the half court for about 30 minutes, we were pretty good defensively. Our transition defense wasn’t good, and we didn’t finish possessions with rebounds. They’re a good team, but when you spot a team 23 turnovers, and they had 27 points off those turnovers. I just thought we were a little bit disconnected, and we didn’t have the toughness and fight that you need this time of year.”
 
The Stats
Rice shot 36.2% (17-of-47) from the field, 40.0% (10-of-25) from three, and 70.8% (12-of-17) from the free throw line. South Florida was held to 37.9% (25-of-66) from the floor and 28.6% (8-of-28) from three, but was 17-of-19 (89.5%) from the free throw line. USF also won the rebounding battle, 40-to-37.
 
Notes
• Rice dropped to 11-17 on the year, and 5-10 in the American Conference.
• Rice moves to 0-5 all-time against South Florida.
• The Owls are now 0-2 in Houston.
• Rice connected on 10 three-pointers, the 13th time this year it made at least 10 threes.
• G Cam Carroll led the Owls with 13 points and a season-high six rebounds, his 11th double-figure scoring game of the year.
• G Nick Anderson scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.
• It was his 23rd double-figure scoring game this year, and the 69th of his career.
• G Trae Broadnax scored 10 points and had five rebounds.
• It was his team-high 26th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 98th of his career.
• C Stephen Giwa grabbed five rebounds, had two blocks, and a career-high four steals.
 
Next Up
Rice begins its final regular season road trip this Sunday, Mar. 1, when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa., to face Temple. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.